8 and 0, what do we know?

[Zorro]

They may also be the best in the country in the open court. Who, can run with MoJet, Bria, Briana and Saniya? For that matter, what bigs can run with ours?

 

[Scotter]

Individually the change in Moriah from a year ago is a rare thing. While the way she is playing now is certainly within the potential she showed in high school, I couldn't fairly expect the jump she made.

While there is a lot of room for Breanna to improve the difference between her assists this year and a year ago is a tangible marker of her improvement. She's finally helping her teammates be successful, which even during her NCAA run wasn't really happening last year.

But overall just seeing this team execute offense like a UConn team is a relief. Last year at times it was painful to watch fastbreak opportunity after fastbreak opportunity bungled. Or players being completely lost in the halfcourt offense. Over matched opponents or not these last two game sin particular showed a level of collective execution rarely seen a year ago.

 

[Kibitzer]

Among the many areas of improvement in the half-court offense:

Spacing. High post, low post, perimeter, sharp cuts through the lane, no bunching up.

Quick passing. It is rare that anyone hold the ball more than one or two seconds, whereas last year some (most notably Kiah and Morgan) would look around a bit before passing the ball. Now it is zip zip zip zip shot!
​

Similarly, fast outlet passes from defensive rebound to transition.

All in all, enormous sustained pressure on defenders, keeping them constantly on their heels.

 

[meyers7]

And I'm enjoying folks who want to use Lin Dunn as a kicking post all season, even as they deliberately misread her intent. It's cute.

Well if you read her follow up posts, looks like they read her correctly.

 

[semper]

I finally got to see a few minutes of this team yesterday (end of first half only), and what probably amazed me the most were some of the passes I saw. These guys consistently thread the needle. We used to get a few of those per game, but I saw several incredible passes, and all in a fairly short period of time.

 

[alexrgct]

I'll start and edit with the input of others. We know:

• 
  [ ]Defending national champs and no evidence of complacency. This team's effort is relentless. #Maturity
  [ ]This team played 4 games in 5 days and its play improved with each game. #Maturity
  
  [ ]After 2 games the team loses its leading scorer and best perimeter scorer and a key player off the bench. In the face of this adversity, the team goes on the road and beats 2 ranked teams convincingly. #Maturity
  [ ]The team has racked up 178 assists versus only 80 turnovers. #Unselfish #Discipline
  
  [ ]UConn runs the best half-court offense in the country, hands down. #HardCuts #Unselfish
  
  [ ]Dolson, Stewart and Stokes are the best frontcourt in the country and it isn't close. Can't wait for KML and Tuck to join them. #Versatile
  
  [ ]Bria Hartley is on a mission, averaging 14 points, 5.9 assists and only 10 turnovers. No guard in the country attacks the defense in transition like Bria Hartley. #Pride
  [ ]Stef Dolson is the best center in the country, hands down. #Versatile
  [ ]Kiah Stokes is a completely different player this year. #Pride
  [ ]Moriah Jefferson is an absolute pest on defense. #Relentless
  [ ]Breanna Stewart can score from everywhere on the court. #Unguardable
  [ ]Brianna Banks has been aggressive, great on defense, patient on offense, and a spark whenever she's on the court. #Fearless
  [ ]Saniya Chong has great instincts, is a great passer and can hit clutch shots. She has also proved that the recruit ratings services completely missed the boat. #NosurprisetoUConnfans
  
  [ ]Lin Dunn should spend less time looking at the scoreboard and more time watching how well this team plays the game she loves. #BeautifulBasketball

BUt other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

 

[reno tony]

We are 8 - 0 and I know we have a 14 game winning streak and that means 77 to go for the record.

77 TO GO​

 

[Kibitzer]

We are 8 - 0 and I know we have a 14 game winning streak and that means 77 to go for the record.

77 TO GO​

ahem. Are you reno tony or TonyC?

 

[JRRRJ]

Among the many areas of improvement in the half-court offense:

Spacing. High post, low post, perimeter, sharp cuts through the lane, no bunching up.

Quick passing. It is rare that anyone hold the ball more than one or two seconds, whereas last year some (most notably Kiah and Morgan) would look around a bit before passing the ball. Now it is zip zip zip zip shot!
​

Similarly, fast outlet passes from defensive rebound to transition.

All in all, enormous sustained pressure on defenders, keeping them constantly on their heels.

Yeah. I'd been commenting to Colleen early in the year that -- despite noticeable improvement from last year -- some of our players were still standing around too much in the half court offense and the passers weren't finding people to be where they first looked for them. But that's been much further improved over the last 3 games. Hopefully the successful repetition against 3 different opponents will allow them to continue against faster, stronger opposition.

As Phil mentioned, last night I was reminded of that ODU game from the beginning of the century. I can't remember for sure whether it was the Ralph-Abrosimova team or the TASS team, but I think it was the latter in the undefeated season. At the end of the game, a Geno who was more hard-edged than he exhibits now said something in the neighborhood of "for the first half, they played the game the way I see it going in my head", meaning both offense and defense. High praise indeed! For the last 3 games there have been many flashes (and for those 10 minutes in the first half last night an extended display) of the way skill, teamwork and dedication can combine to make a symphony of mesmerizing motion on the floor that I just love watching.

Congratulations, ladies! And Thanks! A lot!

 

[cferraro04]

As far as better than Jones, Williams and Cash... Let's just say that we are looking at two different eras. That was the era of the 6'2" swing forward who at that time could dominate. Jones lagged behind the other two as she was the late bloomer. Williams became beset with injuries and her time was limited and Cash was simply fearless, not to be denied and just a beast around the basket. Now, this group is 6'3", 6'4" and 6'5"...that spells formidable. They represent the era of the big post players. We have a legitimate center, maybe two, A power forward who can play the other 4 positions....versatility, power, scoring, blocked shots...I have to go with this three as better than Jones, Williams and Cash if we are talking about strictly front court in this day and age. If we take Dolson, Stewart and Stokes and transport them back to the former era they would terrorize teams. If we went back to the future with Jones, Williams and Cash...while I think they would be incredible they wouldn't have the same effect on WCBB in 2013.

Now comparing this team to last year's version. I have to say that this year's team is in my opinion even better than last year's version. I mean this as no disrespect towards Kelly Faris who was an amazing player. However player by player:

Lost from last year - Kelly Faris, Caroline Doty and Heather Buck

Dolson - healthier, better
Bria - healthier, better
Stewart - smarter, more mature, better
Moriah - just better, did I say better? Absolutely better!
Banks - back from her injury, almost as good as she was when she went down. By the end of the season barring any further injuries she will be better.
Kiah - better by a lot
Morgan - before she went in for her surgery...she was playing awesome...definitely better than last year.
KML - No doubt she will be at least as good as she was last year when she returns to the line-up
Saniya - playing well for a freshman...she is not playing at Kelly Faris's level but between her playing better than expected and the rest of the team playing better than last year. I believe this team is better than last year's version.
Tierney Lawlor and Brianna Polito - What can you say...they are walk-ons. They are doing great and deserve a lot of credit.

Empirical Data...

This yr. Last yr Change
Stewart 18.9 13.8 +5.1
Hartley 14.0 9.2 +4.8
Dolson 14.0 13.6 +0.4
Jefferson 11.6 4.7 +6.9
KML 17.6 10.5 -7.1*
Stokes 8.8 2.8 +6.0
Tuck 8.5 6.4 +2.1
Saniya 7.9 0.0 +7.9
Banks 5.9 7.3 -1.4**
Lawlor 3.6 0.0 +3.6
Pulido 0.4 0.0 +0.4
Faris 0.0 10.2 -10.2
Doty 0.0 3.2 -3.2
Buck 0.0 0.8 -0.8

Net change +14.04 Total Rebounds 2012-13 = 42.8 per game; 2013-14 = 42.5 Total Assists 2012-13 = 20.8; 2013-14 = 22.3


*Who doesn't think that KML will be playing at least at the level she was playing at last year?
**who doesn't think that Banks will continue to improve as the season wears on?

Does that mean that players who are getting minutes now will get less to make way for Tuck and KML of course...so, at the end of the day...Stokes and Banks may see a little less time and their stats may take a little hit...but, it will balance out and quite possibly the stats could skew towards being even better. I believe that this team will be better this year. Additionally, we won't be playing Notre Dame 3/4 times, We will be playing Louisville probably three times but I don't anticipate the same level of competitiveness as Notre Dame provided last year, Duke will be tough especially if KML isn't back in the line-up, Baylor won't be as tough this year as they were last year, the new AAC will not be anywhere near as competitive as the old Big East.

 

[baggerbob]

As far as better than Jones, Williams and Cash... Let's just say that we are looking at two different eras. That was the era of the 6'2" swing forward who at that time could dominate. Jones lagged behind the other two as she was the late bloomer. Williams became beset with injuries and her time was limited and Cash was simply fearless, not to be denied and just a beast around the basket. Now, this group is 6'3", 6'4" and 6'5"...that spells formidable. They represent the era of the big post players. We have a legitimate center, maybe two, A power forward who can play the other 4 positions....versatility, power, scoring, blocked shots...I have to go with this three as better than Jones, Williams and Cash if we are talking about strictly front court in this day and age. If we take Dolson, Stewart and Stokes and transport them back to the former era they would terrorize teams. If we went back to the future with Jones, Williams and Cash...while I think they would be incredible they wouldn't have the same effect on WCBB in 2013.

Now comparing this team to last year's version. I have to say that this year's team is in my opinion even better than last year's version. I mean this as no disrespect towards Kelly Faris who was an amazing player. However player by player:

Lost from last year - Kelly Faris, Caroline Doty and Heather Buck

Dolson - healthier, better
Bria - healthier, better
Stewart - smarter, more mature, better
Moriah - just better, did I say better? Absolutely better!
Banks - back from her injury, almost as good as she was when she went down. By the end of the season barring any further injuries she will be better.
Kiah - better by a lot
Morgan - before she went in for her surgery...she was playing awesome...definitely better than last year.
KML - No doubt she will be at least as good as she was last year when she returns to the line-up
Saniya - playing well for a freshman...she is not playing at Kelly Faris's level but between her playing better than expected and the rest of the team playing better than last year. I believe this team is better than last year's version.
Tierney Lawlor and Brianna Polito - What can you say...they are walk-ons. They are doing great and deserve a lot of credit.

Empirical Data...

This yr. Last yr Change
Stewart 18.9 13.8 +5.1
Hartley 14.0 9.2 +4.8
Dolson 14.0 13.6 +0.4
Jefferson 11.6 4.7 +6.9
KML 17.6 10.5 -7.1*
Stokes 8.8 2.8 +6.0
Tuck 8.5 6.4 +2.1
Saniya 7.9 0.0 +7.9
Banks 5.9 7.3 -1.4*
Lawlor 3.6 0.0 +3.6
Pulido 0.4 0.0 +0.4
Faris 0.0 10.2 -10.2
Doty 0.0 3.2 -3.2
Buck 0.0 0.8 -0.8

Net change +14.04 Total Rebounds 2012-13 = 42.8 per game; 2013-14 = 42.5 Total Assists 2012-13 = 20.8; 2013-14 = 22.3


*Who doesn't think that KML will be playing at least at the level she was playing at last year?
*who doesn't think that Banks will continue to improve as the season wears on?

Does that mean that players who are getting minutes now will get less to make way for Tuck and KML of course...so, at the end of the day...Stokes and Banks may see a little less time and their stats may take a little hit...but, it will balance out and quite possibly the stats could skew towards being even better. I believe that this team will be better this year. Additionally, we won't be playing Notre Dame 3/4 times, We will be playing Louisville probably three times but I don't anticipate the same level of competitiveness as Notre Dame provided last year, Duke will be tough especially if KML isn't back in the line-up, Baylor won't be as tough this year as they were last year, the new AAC will not be anywhere near as competitive as the old Big East.

When KML, and Morgan come back it will cut into some people's minutes, but everyone will be fresher, and the team will press more. The amount of points, rebounds, assists will probably go up, as everyone on the team wants to play well, in order to get more time.